Carry-Out Meaning
Definition: Food taken out of a restaurant to eat at home (noun); the action of taking something out (verb).
Usually, carry out is seen as a verb phrase and can be used in a sentence as one.
For example,
- Will you carry out the tools to the car?
In this sentence, carry out is functioning as a verb phrase and does not refer to takeout food.
However, carry-out is also a noun used to refer to food sometimes. Many people pick up food from restaurants and literally carry it out of the shops to take home to eat. This food that is picked up and taken out of restaurants is often called carry out. Another term for carry-out food is takeout.
Origin of Carry-Out
This phrase originated in America in the mid-1960s to describe food bought prepared at a restaurant and taken home to eat. It uses the literal act of carrying food out of a restaurant to refer to the food.
Previously, the phrase takeout was used to describe food that had been taken out of restaurants. Both takeout and carry-out can be used in the same way in writing and conversation.
Great Britain has its own version of the phrase that also originated in the mid-1960s. This phrase is takeaway.
If someone uses the carry-out, takeout, or takeaway as a noun, that person is referring to food. Sometimes, carry-out appears as a two words, carry out, or a single word, carryout.
Examples of Carry-Out
A typical conversation using the word might go as follows,
Steve: I am exhausted tonight. Will you cook dinner?
Molly: I have work to finish still, so I won’t be able to start until late.
Steve: I’m hungry now. Don’t worry about cooking. I’ll just order some carry-out.
Another example conversation might go like this,
Joe: I want to order food from the new burger place. Do they have a delivery driver, so I can order over the phone?
Sally: No, you actually have to go in to the store to get food, but they will let you pick up carry-out to take home.
More Examples
- There are many gourmet resort spots that are worth a visit, but the carry-out eateries on the boards are some of the best around. –Chicago Sun
- He announced he’d set up a task force to look at whether to ban plastic and paper carry-out products, tax plastic bags or provide consumers with reusable bags. –New York Post
Summary
Carry-out is food that has been prepared at a restaurant but is eaten at home.
Contents